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District says half‑penny sales tax likely won’t fund full renovation list by 2036 as costs rise
Summary
Chief facilities officer said construction-material price rises and supply-chain uncertainty mean the voter-approved half‑penny sales tax will not cover all planned renovations by the program’s 2036 expiration; the district has spent $159 million from the tax since 2022 and is reallocating work into deferred‑maintenance projects.
Dave Sharma, the district’s chief facilities officer, told the Osceola County School Board at a March 25 workshop that rising construction costs and supply-chain uncertainty make it unlikely the board will finish the voter‑approved half‑penny sales‑tax renovation list by the program’s 2036 expiration.
Sharma said the district has already spent $159,000,000 of the half‑penny sales tax on projects since July 2022 but that escalating material and labor prices have pushed some project budgets much higher than originally planned. “When we did the project the way that we’re supposed to do it … we ended up with an $89,000,000 budget,” Sharma said, referring to a recent renovation that carried a $58,000,000 estimate in 2017. He said a prototype elementary school that…
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